Fluid operated positive displacement rotating energy converter

ABSTRACT

An engine constructed to operate on steam or other compressed gases obtained from boiling liquids such as water, freon, or the like, and utilizing a closed system wherein the expanded gases are condensed and recycled. The engine includes two clusters of cylinders mounted for rotation about axes disposed at an obtuse angle to one another and which are connected by double ended pistons, the ends of which are likewise disposed at an obtuse angle to one another and operate in complementary cylinders of the two cylinder clusters, so that as the two cylinder clusters revolve as a unit, the cylinders engaged by the two ends of each double ended piston will move toward and away from one another so that said cylinders reciprocate on the piston ends, as the pistons revolve with the cylinders. A valve system supplies gas under pressure to complementary cylinders of the two cylinder clusters which are located in close proximity to one another and which are at a minimum volume, due to the pistons thereof being in close proximity to the cylinder heads. This causes the cylinder clusters to revolve by forcing the cylinders to which the gas is being supplied, to move away from one another in order to increase the volume of said cylinders and accommodate more gas as it enters the cylinder chambers. An output shaft is connected to one of the cylinder clusters and rotates therewith.

United States Patent [1 1 Oliver [4 1 Dec. 4, 1973 22 Filed:

[76] lnventor: James E. Oliver, 520 Riverside Dr.,

Holly Hill, Fla. 32017 June 22, 1971 211 Appl. No.: 155,505

[52] US. Cl. 91/500, 91/503 [51] Int. Cl. F04b 1/02, F04b 3/00 [58] Field of Search 91 /474, 486, 487,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,434,429 3/ 1969 Goodwin 91/490 3,073,252 l/1963 Kamps et al. 2,364,301 12/1944 MacNeil 91/500 2,428,809 10/1947 Parilla et al 91/490 2,081,270 5/1937 Edmundson et al. 91/490 3,331,288 7/ 1967 Kolthoff 92/57 1,943,664 1/1934 Fear. 91/500 3,656,408 4/1972 Fox 91/500 2,073,710 3/1937 Rayfield... 91/500 3,046,950 7/1962 Smith 9/491 Primary Examiner-William L. Freeh Assistant Examiner-Gregory LaPointe Attorney-John N. Randolph [5 7 ABSTRACT An engine constructed to operate on steam or other compressed gases obtained from boiling liquids such as water, freon, or the like, and utilizing a closed system wherein the expanded gases are condensed and recycled. The engine includes two clusters of cylinders mounted for rotation about axes disposed at an obtuse angle to one another and which are connected by double ended pistons, the ends of which are likewise disposed at an obtuse angle to one another and operate in complementary cylinders of the two cylinder clusters, so that as the two cylinder clusters revolve as a unit, the cylinders engaged by the two ends of each double ended piston will move toward and away from one another so that said cylinders reciprocate on the piston ends, as the pistons revolve with the cylinders. A valve system supplies gas under pressure to complementary cylinders of the two cylinder clusters which are located in close proximity to one another and which are at a minimum volume, due to the pistons thereof being in close proximity to the cylinder heads. This causes the cylinder clusters to revolve by forcing the cylinders to which the gas is being supplied, to move away from one another in order to increase the volume of said cylinders and accommodate more gas as it enters the cylinder chambers. An output shaft is connected to one of the cylinder clusters and rotates therewith.

9 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures PATENTED DEC 4 I975 SHEET 1 [1F 5 PMENTEUMB 4:915

SHEET 2 BF 5 FIG 4 "MENTEU DEC 4 975 SHEET 3 5 5 INVENTOR PATENTEU DEC 4 I973 SHIN Q E? FIG a INVENTOR FMS (if/YES, 1 U4 PATENTEU UEC 41973 SHEET 5 BF SUMMARY DESCRIPTION or THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring more specifically to the drawings, and first It is a primary object of the present inventionto prowith reference to FIGS. 1 to 11, the fluid operated posivide an engine of simple construction having a minimum of moving parts, which is operated by a gaseous medium underpressure which is recycled through a closed supply system, so that there is'no, exhaust discharged from the engine which could. cause pollution in the atmosphere. Another object of the invention is pressed gas simultaneously and substantially equally to, the Complementary y i der o the. wo cyl nde c us ters, whereby the torque. imparted tothe two-cylinder, clusters will be substantially equal.

A further object of the invention is toprovideavalve system including a novel timing means which addition:

ally enables reversing the direction. of rotation of the, cylinder clusters and the output shaftdriventhereby; and a novel throttle controlfor, regulating the speed-at,

which the output shaft is driven ineitherdirection,

Various other objects and advantages ,of. the inven:

tion will hereinafter become more fully apparentifrom the following description of the drawings, illustrating presently preferred embgdiments thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIQNOF 'T DRAWINGS.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional rview, taken substan tially along the lines l--1,o f. FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 2 is. a cross sectional view, taken snbstantiallyalong the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a similar view, taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1, looking in the opposite direction .to

FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is as enlarged fragmentary. sectional view,

taken substantiallyalong a plane is indicated by the line I 44 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are fragmentary. perspective views illustrating different positions of the valvebodies;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view,

partly in section and partly in elevation. showingin de-.

tail a part of the structure" of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the head portion of oneofthe pistons;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary-sectional view, partly inelevation and partly in section, of one, of the cylinders and its associated piston;

FIG. 11 is a diagramatic viewillustratingtheclosed gas system and closed lubricating system of. theengine;

FIG. 12 is a view corresponding to. FIG, 1 gandillustrating a simplified embodiment of .theengine;

FIGS. 13, 14 and 15 are fragmentary perspeetive. views illustrating different positions of the valve body; 1 FIG. 16 is a fragmentary view partly inelevationand partly in section, illustrating a modified-throttlemeans, and

FIG ..17 is a fragmentary viewin elevation showing.

another throttle meansobtuse angle to one another corresponding to the obtive displacement rotating energy converter or engine in its entirety is designated generally 15, and includes a main housing 16 having corresponding end portions 17 and. ,18 which are disposed at an obtuse angle to one another, as seen in FIG. 1. An underside of the housing end 18 is provided with a mounting base or bracket 19 by which the housing 16 may be secured on any suitable supporting member, not shown, by the fastenings 20,. Theremote ends of the housing sections 17 and 18 have outtumed flanges 21 engaged by flanges 22 of the housing end caps23 and 24 which are connected to the housing ends 17 and 18, respectively, by screw fastenings 25 which'extend threadedly through the abutting flanges 21 and. 22.

The end caps 23 and 24 are recessed, as seen at 26,, toaccommodate anti-friction bearings 27 providing antiafriction bearing supports for cylinder heads 28 and 29 which are rotatively mounted in the caps 23 and 24, respectiyely, and which extend into the housing ends 17 and 18, respectively. The remote ends of the cylinder, heads28 and 29 are externally threaded, as seen at 30, toreceive adjusting nuts 31 for correctly adjusting the-running clearance in the bearings 27.

A cylinder. cluster 32 inthe form of an annular block or barrel is secured by a plurality of screw fastenings 33 to the cylinder head 28, as seen in FIG. 4. A second cylinder cluster 34, substantially corresponding to the cylinder cluster. 32, is secured in the same manner to the inner, end of the cylinder head 29. Thus, cylinder cluster 32is supported for. rotation with the cylinder head 28in the housing end 17 and cylinder cluster 34 is similarly supportedby the cylinder head 29 for rotation therewith inthe housing end 18. It will also be noted that the cylinder. clusters 32 and '34 are disposed at an tuse angle formed by the housing ends 17 and 18 and the end caps 23 and 24.

As seen in FIG. 2, the cylinder block 32 contains five cylinders 35', 36, .37, 38 and 39. The cylinder block 34 likewise has. five inwardly opening cylinders, corresponding to the cylinders of the block 32, only certain of .which are shown, including the cylinder 35, the cylinder 38' and the cylinder 37'. A piston, designated generally40, is mounted reciprocably and rotatably in each: cylinder of each barrel 32 and 34. The adjacent ends of the pistons 40 of the complementary cylinders 35 and 35' are pivotally connected together, as seen at 41 :in FIGS. 1 and 10, and the pistons 40 of the other complementary cylinders of the two barrels 32 and 34 "are likewise pivoted, as seen at 41., at their adjacent ends, so that thepivotally connected pistons 40 are also disposed at obtuse angles to one another.

Each piston-40 includes an elongated tubular body 42 theouter end of which is provided with an annular recess 43, FIG. 9, to receive a piston ring 44. The outer end, of the bore of the body 42 is threaded, as seen at 45, to accommodate a tubular piston head 46. An annular expander 47'is disposed between the periphery of theouter end of the'head 46 and the ring 44. As seen in FIGJ; anequalizer tube 48 extends through the hollow bodies 42 of each pivotally connected pair of pistons40, andhas itsends disposed in the bores of the tubular heads 46. Said tube ends are flared, as seen at 49, FIG. 9, and seat in the inner ends of enlarged internally threaded outer ends of the heads 46, which receive tubular screws 51 which seat against the flared tube ends 49, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described, and also to provide a seal.

A cover 52, FIG. 1, is secured to the open outer end of the end cap 23 by screw fastenings 53. A throttle housing 54 is mounted against and extends outwardly from the outer side of the cover 52 and has an annular flange 55 which bears against the outer side of the cover 52 and which is provided with a number of arcuate slots 56, FIG. 8, to receive screw fastenings 57 for securing the housing 54 on the cover 52.

A flexible tube 58 is connected to the inner end of the housing 54 and extends through a central opening 59 of the cover 52 and through an axial bore 60 of the cylinder head 28. The other, inner end of the tube 58 connects with the outer end of a valve 61 which fits rotatively in a bushing sleeve 62, contained partly in the bore 60 and partly in the axial bore 63 of the cylinder block 32. The valve 61 has an inwardly facing annular shoulder 64 which rests on a thrust bearing 65 which is supported by a spacer 66 and snap ring 67. The valve 61 has a bore 68 extending longitudinally threrethrough and through a restricted tubular neck 69 which extends through the parts 65, 66 and 67.

As seen in FIGS. 1,2,3 and 6, valve 61 has a flared port 70 leading from its bore 68 and opening outwardly toward the periphery thereof through openings 72 of the bushing 62, which communicate with passages 73 of the head 28. The radially extending passages 73 open into the cylinders 35-39 for connecting said cylinders to the hollow interior of the valve 61. A passage 74 extends longitudinally through a part of the head 28 and opens outwardly thereof. The passage 74 has a downwardly opening inner end communicating with the port 71 of the valve 61.

A valve body 75,(FIGS. 1, 5, 6, 7) is disposed in a bushing 76 which is contained in the central bore 77 of the cylinder block 34 and a bore 78 of the head 29, and is supported at its outer end by a thrust bearing 65, spacer 66 and snap ring 67. The valve has a tubular neck 79 at its inner end which communicates with one end of a bore 80. The opposite end of the bore 80 opens into a radial port 81, corresponding to the port 70, and which communicates with the cylinders of the block 34 through openings 82 of the bushing 76 and passages 83 in the cylinder head 29. The valve 75 has a port 84 corresponding to the port 71 and which also communicates with the openings 82 and passages 83 of each of the cylinders of the block 34 during portions of each revolution of said block. The valve 75 has a longitudinally extending passage 85 extending from the port 84 and opening through the inner end of said valve into the chamber 86, formed by the housing 16, and into which the passage 74 also opens. Additionally, each cylinder of each barrel 32 and 34 has an exhaust port 87 which opens into the chamber 86.

The necks 69 and 79 of the valves 61 and 75 are connected by a flexible tube 88 comprising a bellows 89 forming a tubular core and which is wrapped with braid 90, as seen in FIGS. 5 to 7. The bellows construction allows the tube 88 to bend, as seen in FIG. 1, but provides axial rigidity between the valves 61 and 75 to hold the valves in positive relation and position.

An engine output or driveshaft'91 has one end secured in the bore 78 of thecylinder head 29 and extends therefrom through an opening 92 of an end plate 93 which is detachably secured to and closes the outer end of the cap 24. A sealing ring 94 bears against an an nular seat 95 on the inner side ofthe plate 93 to provide a seal for the opening 92. A collar 96 fits tumably on the shaft 91 and against the outer end of the cylinder head 29. A compression spring 97 disposed around the shaft, between the collar 96 and seal 94, retains said seal against the seat 95. g

The housing 54 has an oil inlet 98 and the end cap 23 has an oil inlet 99, both of which communicate with the bore 60 for lubricating the valve 61 and its associated parts, and with the interior of the cap 23, around the cylinder head 28, for lubircating the bearings 27 of said cap. The cap 24 has an oil inlet 100 communicating with the passage 101 of the collar 96 and a passage 102 of the shaft 91 for lubricating the valve 75 and parts as sociated therewith. A branch passage 103 leads from the passage 101 for lubricating the bearings 27 of the cap 24 and a part of the shaft 91.

An oil drain conduit 104 extends downwardly from a part of the bottom of the casing portion 18 to an oil sump 106, FIG. 11. An oil supply line 107 leads from the sump 106 to the oil inlet 98, 99 and 100. A pump 108 in the line 107 supplies the oil under pressure to the inlets.

As seen in. FIG. 11, gas under pressure that has been evaporated in the boiler 109 passes through the conduit 110 to the engine inlet 11 l and the throttle housing 54. The incoming gas enters the bore 1 12 of the housing 54 and passes downwardly therethrough and through a flexible tubing 58 which connects the throttle housing 54 to the valve 61. The upper end of the valve bore 68 terminates in an upwardly facing valve seat 113 through which the compressed gases pass into the valve bore 68. The tubing 58 avoids the occurrence of any misalignment between the close fitting surfaces of the valve body 61 and its bushing 62. The gases pass through the valve seat 113 around a valve 114 which is formed on one end of a valve stem 115, which extends upwardly therefrom through the tubing 58 and the bore 112. The valve stem '115 extends through a packing gland 116 disposed in the upper end of the bore 112 and through a gland nut 117. A lever 118 is secured to the outer end of the stem 115, beyond the housing 54. A part of the valve stem 1 15 threadedly engages a part of the bore 112, as seen at 119, below the gland 116. The throttle level 118 can be turned for moving the valve 114 toward or away from the valve seat 113 to decrease or increase, respectively, the rate of flow of gases into the valve 61, to effect a slowing down or speeding up, respectively, of the engine 15.

Referring to FIG. 2, the cylinder block 32 is turning clockwise as indicated by the arrow 120. A peripheral surface 121 of the valve 61 has just begun to clear the passage 73 of the cylinder 35 so that the compressed gases can enter said cylinder. At the same time, a part of the compressed gases which is passing through the tubing 88 and bore 80 is passing from the port 81 and through one of the passages 83 to the cylinder 35'. The cylinders 35 and 35' are disposed nearer to one another than the remaining cylinders, and the pistons 40 thereof are at substantially the closed ends of said cylinders, so that the volumeof these two cylinders is at a minimum, The pressure against the cylinder heads and piston heads causes the cylinder blocks 32 and 34 to revolve in the direction as indicated by the arrow 120, so as to increase the volume of said cylinders 35 and 35' to allow more gas to enter the cylinders. At the same time, the compressed gases are still entering cylinders 36 and its complimentary cylinder, the pistons of which are part way between the positions of the pistons of the cylinders 35 and 38, as seen in FIG. 1. The pressure of the gases in these cylinders is likewise causing rotation of the cylinder barrels in the direction as indicated by the arrow 120. The pistons 40 of the cylinders 37 and 37 are approaching their positions most remote from the cylinder heads, and the peripheral surface 122 of the valve 61, and a similar surface 122 of the valve 75, has closed the passages leading from the ports 70 and 81 to said cylinders 37 and 37'. Immediately thereafter, the cylinders 37 and 37 move sufficiently away from one another so that the exhaust ports 87 thereof are exposed to allow the gases to escape into the chamber 86, as seen in FIG. 10.

At the same time, the cylinders 38 and 38' have passed their positions most remote from one another and have begun to move toward one another, so that the pistons 40 thereof are being approached by the cylinder heads and have closed the ports 87. As a result,

' the gases remaining in said cylinder 38 and also in the cylinder 39 are being forced therefrom back through the passages 73 thereof into the valve port 71 and from said valve port through the passage 74into the chember 86, by way of cylinder head 28 and cap 23, so that most of the spent gases will be expelled from the cylinders 39 and 38 before said cylinders reach the position of the cylinder 35 of FIG. 1. In a like manner, this rotation of the barrels 32 and 34 causes the gases in the inwardly moving cylinders of barrel 34 to be expelled back through the passages 83 into the port 84 and through the passages 85 into the chamber 86.

While the compressed gases being supplied to the cylinders of both barrels 32 and 34, a part of said gases also pass through the tubes 48 of the pistons 40 of said cylinders for equalizing the pressure in the complementary cylinders 35 and 35', 36and 36', etc.

It will thus be seen that the pistons 40 revolve with the barrels 32 and 34 and that the individual cylinders of said barrels revolve around the pistons thereof. Thus, the pistons 40 have no axial movement and the only movement thereof is rotational movement about the axes of the cylinder barrels, so that as the cylinder barrels revolve, the cylinders move away from the pistons thereof in supplying the torque to the cylinder barrels, and toward the pistons thereof for scavenging the spent gases from the cylinders. The pairs of pistons 40 could be joined rigidly to one another, but are preferably pivoted, as seen at 41, to prevent any possible binding of the pistons in the cylinders. The pistons additionally function for connecting the barrels 32 and 34 to one another so that said barrels rotate as a unit to provide the torque to turn the output shaft 91, in the direction as indicated by the arrow 123, FIG. 1, when the barrels are turning in the direction as indicated by the arrow 120.

The screws 57 can be loosened to allow the throttle housing 54 to be turned relative to the plate 52 within the limits as provided by the slots 56 for varying the timing of the engine 15, and said throttle housing 54 can be turned sufficiently to reverse the engine. The bushings 62 and 76 are lubricated as the lubricant is passed from end to end of the valve through oil grooves 124 and 125 and an oil pocket 126 of the valve 61, and oil grooves 124' and 125' and an oil pocket 126 of the valve 75. Additionally, the pistons 40 are provided with grooves 127 for lubricating the cylinders engaged thereby.

The engine 15 utilizes a closed gas system, as illustrated in FIG. 11, wherein the compressed gases after escaping into the chamber 86 from the ports 87 and passages 74 and 85, pass from the engine housing 16 through its outlet 137 and through the conduit 138, connected thereto, to a condenser 139 where the gases are cooled and discharged in liquid form through the conduit 140 to the receiver 141. The liquid is conveyed back to the boiler 109 from the receiver 141 through the conduit 142 by the pump 143, where it is again evaporated and supplied under pressure to the inlet 111.

FIG. 12 illustrates a simplified embodiment of the engine or positive displacement rotating energy converter which it its entirety is designated generally 144, and which includes the parts 16 to 28 and 30 to 60, corresponding to the parts of the engine 15, bearing the same reference numerals.

A valve of the engine 144 replaces the valve 61 and connects with the inner end of the tube 58. The

valve 145 fits rotatively in a bushing sleeve I46 corresponding to the bushing sleeve 62. Valve 145 has an inwardly facing annular shoulder 147 which rests on a thrust bearing 148 which is supported by a spacer 149 and snap ring 150, which are disposed in the bore 63 of thecylinder block 32. The valve 145 has a bore 151 whichopens through its upper end into the tube 58.

Valve 145 has flared ports 152 and 153, corresponding with the ports 70 and 71, respectively, of the valve 61. Port 152 leads from the bore 151 and opens outwardly. of the periphery of said valve through openings 1540f the sleeve 146. The openings 154 communicate with passages 73 of the head 28. As in the engine 15, the radially extending passages 73 of the engine 144 open into the cylinders 35-39 for connecting said cylinders to the hollow interior of the valve 145. As seen in FIG. 14, a passage 155 communicates with the passage 153 and leads inwardly from the periphery of the valve 145 to a port 156 which opens into the chamber 86 of the housing 16 through the spacer sleeve 149.

Lubrication of the engine 144 differs from the lubrication of the engine 15 in that the parts 100-103 are replaced by an oil inlet 157 which discharges into the cap 24 for lubricating the parts contained within said cap, including the bearings 27 and the output shaft 91.

The engine 144, like the engine 15, has oil inlets 98 and 99 for lubricating the valve 145 and its associated parts; as seen in FIG. 15, lubricant passes from end to end through the valve body 145 through a groove 158 in the periphery thereof and through a groove 159 and passage 161 to an oil pocket 160.

As will be noted, the engine 144 does not include a second valve such as the valve 75 of the engine 15. The cylinder head 29' of the engine 144 differs from the cylinder head 29 in that the passages 83 are omitted. Likewise, the tubing 88 is dispensed with.

The engine 144 includes the closed systems as illustrated in FIG. 11 for supplying the gas under pressure thereto as well as for lubricating the engine. The operation of the engine 144 is the same as described in connection with the operation of the engine 15 except that the gas under pressure is supplied to the cylinders of the block 34 solely through the tubes 48.

FIG. 16 illustrates a slight modification of the throttle control, wherein the threaded portion 1 19 is eliminated and the valve stem 128 is slidably mounted in the gland 116. The lever 118 is replaced by a lever 129 which is pivoted intermediate of its ends at 130, and which has one end 131 pivotally connected to the valve stem 128 so that the other end thereof can be swung in either direction for moving the valve stem inwardly or outwardly through the throttle housing 132.

FIG. 17 illustrates still another modification of the throttle system wherein the throttle housing 133 corresponds to the throttle housing 132 for slidably receiving the valve stem 134 which has a rack portion 135 engaged by a pinion 136 for reciprocating the valve stem when the pinion is oscillated.

Various other modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention.

1 claim as my invention:

1. A positive displacement fluid engine comprising an engine housing, pair of cylinder barrels, means journaling said cylinder barrels in the housing for rotation about axes disposed at an obtuse angle to one another, each of said cylinder barrels having a ring-shaped cluster of inwardly opening outwardly closed cylinders, a piston disposed for rotating and sliding motion in each cylinder, means connecting the adjacent ends of pistons of complementary cylinders of the two cylinder barrels whereby the complementary cylinders of said cylinder barrels simultaneously move outwardly and inwardly with respect to the connected pistons thereof as said barrels revolve as a unit and said complementary cylinders move toward and away from one another, means for supplying a gaseous medium under pressure substantially simultaneously to complementary cylinders of the two barrels and successively to the other complementary cylinders for forcing the cylinders, to which the gas is being supplied under pressure, away from one another, or imparting torque to the barrels, a driveshaft connected to and driven by one of the barrels, said means for supplying the gaseous medium under pressure to complementary cylinders of the two barrels comprising normally stationary valves disposed in said cylinder barrels and around which the barrels revolve and having ports communicating successively with the barrel cylinders as the barrels revolve, a flexible tubing connecting said valves and forming a communicating passage therebetween, and rotatable adjustable means connected to one of said valves for turning said valve to adjust the timing of the engine, said flexible tubing providing a connecting shaft between said valves to effect a uniform rotative adjustment of the two valves.

2. An engine as in claim 1, said means connecting adjacent ends of complementary pistons together comprising pivotal connections.

3. An engine as in claim 1, said cylinders having exhaust ports opening into the housing and disposed to be exposed by the pistons thereof as the complementary cylinders of the barrels approach positions most remote from one another.

4. An engine as in claim 1, and means to permit the escape of the gases from the cylinders as the complementary cylinders move toward one another and toward the pistons thereof, including ports formed in said valves.

5. An engine as in claim 1, said rotatively adjustable means providing a rotative adjustment of the two valves for effecting a reversal of the sequence to which the gas under pressure is supplied to the complementary cylinders of the valves for reversing the direction of rotation of the valves and driveshaft.

6. An engine as in claim 1, said means supplying a pressurized gaseous medium including equalizing conduits extending through the connected pistons and opening through the heads thereof into the cylinders engaged thereby for equalizing the pressure in said complementary cylinders of the two barrels.

7. An engine as in claim 1, and a manually actuated throttle valve for regulating the flow of compressed gas to said valves for varying the rotational speed of the cylinder barrels.

8. An engine as in claim 1, said engine housing including oil inlet ports and a drain port, a closed lubrieating system connected to each of said inlet ports and to said drain port, a pump interposed in said system between the drain port and inlet ports, and a sump interposed in said system between the pump and drain port for supplying lubricant under pressure to the engine through each of said inlet ports.

9. An engine as in claim 8, each of said pistons having grooves for conveying a part of the lubricant to the cylinders. 

1. A positive displacement fluid engine comprising an engine housing, pair of cylinder barrels, means jouRnaling said cylinder barrels in the housing for rotation about axes disposed at an obtuse angle to one another, each of said cylinder barrels having a ring-shaped cluster of inwardly opening outwardly closed cylinders, a piston disposed for rotating and sliding motion in each cylinder, means connecting the adjacent ends of pistons of complementary cylinders of the two cylinder barrels whereby the complementary cylinders of said cylinder barrels simultaneously move outwardly and inwardly with respect to the connected pistons thereof as said barrels revolve as a unit and said complementary cylinders move toward and away from one another, means for supplying a gaseous medium under pressure substantially simultaneously to complementary cylinders of the two barrels and successively to the other complementary cylinders for forcing the cylinders, to which the gas is being supplied under pressure, away from one another, or imparting torque to the barrels, a driveshaft connected to and driven by one of the barrels, said means for supplying the gaseous medium under pressure to complementary cylinders of the two barrels comprising normally stationary valves disposed in said cylinder barrels and around which the barrels revolve and having ports communicating successively with the barrel cylinders as the barrels revolve, a flexible tubing connecting said valves and forming a communicating passage therebetween, and rotatable adjustable means connected to one of said valves for turning said valve to adjust the timing of the engine, said flexible tubing providing a connecting shaft between said valves to effect a uniform rotative adjustment of the two valves.
 2. An engine as in claim 1, said means connecting adjacent ends of complementary pistons together comprising pivotal connections.
 3. An engine as in claim 1, said cylinders having exhaust ports opening into the housing and disposed to be exposed by the pistons thereof as the complementary cylinders of the barrels approach positions most remote from one another.
 4. An engine as in claim 1, and means to permit the escape of the gases from the cylinders as the complementary cylinders move toward one another and toward the pistons thereof, including ports formed in said valves.
 5. An engine as in claim 1, said rotatively adjustable means providing a rotative adjustment of the two valves for effecting a reversal of the sequence to which the gas under pressure is supplied to the complementary cylinders of the valves for reversing the direction of rotation of the valves and driveshaft.
 6. An engine as in claim 1, said means supplying a pressurized gaseous medium including equalizing conduits extending through the connected pistons and opening through the heads thereof into the cylinders engaged thereby for equalizing the pressure in said complementary cylinders of the two barrels.
 7. An engine as in claim 1, and a manually actuated throttle valve for regulating the flow of compressed gas to said valves for varying the rotational speed of the cylinder barrels.
 8. An engine as in claim 1, said engine housing including oil inlet ports and a drain port, a closed lubricating system connected to each of said inlet ports and to said drain port, a pump interposed in said system between the drain port and inlet ports, and a sump interposed in said system between the pump and drain port for supplying lubricant under pressure to the engine through each of said inlet ports.
 9. An engine as in claim 8, each of said pistons having grooves for conveying a part of the lubricant to the cylinders. 